Services

Beach closed after live bombs found

Southend Council has closed East Beach in Shoebury to the public after artillery and mortar shells were found washed up last night and this morning.

Scott Dolling, acting head of service for economy, regeneration and tourism said: “Due to the increasing amount of unexploded ordnance items being found within and near to East Beach, and with public safety our first priority, we feel we must take the decision to temporarily close the beach.

“The MOD has started surveying works which once completed will allow us to properly assess the risk and make an informed decision as to what we do next. We are working with them to get this work done as quickly as possible.

“As part of this, we also need to consider the implications of the increasing number of unexploded ordnance being washed ashore.”

It is thought that the recent bad weather experienced across the country, including high tides and waves, has led to more ordnance being washed up around the country, including East Beach.

New signs are to be put in place from today, along with fencing by the weekend.

Additional Resort Services staff will be put on duty in the East Beach area during daylight hours.

Comments

We are now so surprised, having let hundreds of thousands of rounds, be fired at the Shoeburyness ranges, of which many didnt go bang...

We are now so surprised, having let hundreds of thousands of rounds, be fired at the Shoeburyness ranges, of which many didnt go bang...carnmountyouknowitmakessense

We are now so surprised, having let hundreds of thousands of rounds, be fired at the Shoeburyness ranges, of which many didnt go bang...

Score: 9

keepitreal
5:32pm Thu 1 May 14

Nothing to do with storms!!! Just look at the mud it is being washed away due to dredging for the super port. if you do not believe me look at the boom the concrete is white where it used to be covered in mud.
Hey Rodger biy a beach hut free firework show every week ja ha ha

Nothing to do with storms!!! Just look at the mud it is being washed away due to dredging for the super port. if you do not believe me look at the boom the concrete is white where it used to be covered in mud.
Hey Rodger biy a beach hut free firework show every week ja ha hakeepitreal

Nothing to do with storms!!! Just look at the mud it is being washed away due to dredging for the super port. if you do not believe me look at the boom the concrete is white where it used to be covered in mud.
Hey Rodger biy a beach hut free firework show every week ja ha ha

Score: 18

carnmountyouknowitmakessense
5:36pm Thu 1 May 14

keepitreal wrote…

Nothing to do with storms!!! Just look at the mud it is being washed away due to dredging for the super port. if you do not believe me look at the boom the concrete is white where it used to be covered in mud.
Hey Rodger biy a beach hut free firework show every week ja ha ha

Never a truer word said in jest though unlike Westcliff which has hundreds of anti - aircraft shells, which were fired from the cliff batteries, shoebury has hundreds of thousands, tested since 1870

[quote][p][bold]keepitreal[/bold] wrote:
Nothing to do with storms!!! Just look at the mud it is being washed away due to dredging for the super port. if you do not believe me look at the boom the concrete is white where it used to be covered in mud.
Hey Rodger biy a beach hut free firework show every week ja ha ha[/p][/quote]Never a truer word said in jest though unlike Westcliff which has hundreds of anti - aircraft shells, which were fired from the cliff batteries, shoebury has hundreds of thousands, tested since 1870carnmountyouknowitmakessense

keepitreal wrote…

Nothing to do with storms!!! Just look at the mud it is being washed away due to dredging for the super port. if you do not believe me look at the boom the concrete is white where it used to be covered in mud.
Hey Rodger biy a beach hut free firework show every week ja ha ha

Never a truer word said in jest though unlike Westcliff which has hundreds of anti - aircraft shells, which were fired from the cliff batteries, shoebury has hundreds of thousands, tested since 1870

Score: 18

FlintstoneFredFlintstone007
6:36pm Thu 1 May 14

..... note to all MoD surveyors , Management Consultants teams , other relevant experts & numerous Council dignitaries turning up for a few fully expensed lunches and high-brow meetings ....... Dear All, if you're not too sure where all the artillery shells are coming from, anyone of the thousands of locals will tell you about that sunken ship in the middle of the Thames, loaded with "goodies" that the authorities are always bleating will cost too much to deal with . Nowhere near as much as all the dredging , mind . And if all your highly technical equipment is struggling to pinpoint the site of the ship ( as with the recently missing airliner & cruiseship ), then just keep any eye out for a fakkin great mast sticking out of the water.
This is Fred Flintstone reporting for BBC News, Westcliff on Sea, Essex .

..... note to all MoD surveyors , Management Consultants teams , other relevant experts & numerous Council dignitaries turning up for a few fully expensed lunches and high-brow meetings ....... Dear All, if you're not too sure where all the artillery shells are coming from, anyone of the thousands of locals will tell you about that sunken ship in the middle of the Thames, loaded with "goodies" that the authorities are always bleating will cost too much to deal with . Nowhere near as much as all the dredging , mind . And if all your highly technical equipment is struggling to pinpoint the site of the ship ( as with the recently missing airliner & cruiseship ), then just keep any eye out for a fakkin great mast sticking out of the water.
This is Fred Flintstone reporting for BBC News, Westcliff on Sea, Essex .FlintstoneFredFlintstone007

..... note to all MoD surveyors , Management Consultants teams , other relevant experts & numerous Council dignitaries turning up for a few fully expensed lunches and high-brow meetings ....... Dear All, if you're not too sure where all the artillery shells are coming from, anyone of the thousands of locals will tell you about that sunken ship in the middle of the Thames, loaded with "goodies" that the authorities are always bleating will cost too much to deal with . Nowhere near as much as all the dredging , mind . And if all your highly technical equipment is struggling to pinpoint the site of the ship ( as with the recently missing airliner & cruiseship ), then just keep any eye out for a fakkin great mast sticking out of the water.
This is Fred Flintstone reporting for BBC News, Westcliff on Sea, Essex .

Score: 13

cut the crap!
7:20pm Thu 1 May 14

What a joke this is!
Just been to east beach and surely if this is as serious as you are making it out to be then you would have closed the beach already, have the police or somebody there to stop people going on the beach! I counted no less than 6 people out on the mud DIGGING!!! for bait.

What a joke this is!
Just been to east beach and surely if this is as serious as you are making it out to be then you would have closed the beach already, have the police or somebody there to stop people going on the beach! I counted no less than 6 people out on the mud DIGGING!!! for bait.cut the crap!

What a joke this is!
Just been to east beach and surely if this is as serious as you are making it out to be then you would have closed the beach already, have the police or somebody there to stop people going on the beach! I counted no less than 6 people out on the mud DIGGING!!! for bait.

Score: 11

keepitreal
8:04pm Thu 1 May 14

Just walked dog no coppers or council official s.
Note to bait diggers what is the last thing to go through your mind when you hit a bomb?
Your ****

Just walked dog no coppers or council official s.
Note to bait diggers what is the last thing to go through your mind when you hit a bomb?
Your ****keepitreal

Just walked dog no coppers or council official s.
Note to bait diggers what is the last thing to go through your mind when you hit a bomb?
Your ****

Score: 7

keepitreal
8:04pm Thu 1 May 14

Just walked dog no coppers or council official s.
Note to bait diggers what is the last thing to go through your mind when you hit a bomb?
Your ****

Just walked dog no coppers or council official s.
Note to bait diggers what is the last thing to go through your mind when you hit a bomb?
Your ****keepitreal

Just walked dog no coppers or council official s.
Note to bait diggers what is the last thing to go through your mind when you hit a bomb?
Your ****

Score: 0

keepitreal
8:04pm Thu 1 May 14

Just walked dog no coppers or council official s.
Note to bait diggers what is the last thing to go through your mind when you hit a bomb?
Your ****

Just walked dog no coppers or council official s.
Note to bait diggers what is the last thing to go through your mind when you hit a bomb?
Your ****keepitreal

Just walked dog no coppers or council official s.
Note to bait diggers what is the last thing to go through your mind when you hit a bomb?
Your ****

Score: -2

keepitreal
8:06pm Thu 1 May 14

Sorry about 3 posts dunno what happened

Sorry about 3 posts dunno what happenedkeepitreal

Sorry about 3 posts dunno what happened

Score: 3

pembury53
8:15am Fri 2 May 14

should allow dogs on this beach for a bit longer.....

should allow dogs on this beach for a bit longer.....pembury53

should allow dogs on this beach for a bit longer.....

Score: -3

Nelly99
11:25am Fri 2 May 14

I found one yesterday. I,m going to put it on Ebay. It'll go a bomb!

I found one yesterday. I,m going to put it on Ebay. It'll go a bomb!Nelly99

I found one yesterday. I,m going to put it on Ebay. It'll go a bomb!

Score: -1

LoopyLou88
1:40pm Fri 2 May 14

not the first time bombs have been found washed up. they are quite often washed up - they are probably coming from that sunken ship.

not the first time bombs have been found washed up. they are quite often washed up - they are probably coming from that sunken ship.LoopyLou88

not the first time bombs have been found washed up. they are quite often washed up - they are probably coming from that sunken ship.

Score: -2

grippie
5:41pm Mon 5 May 14

It will be quite exciting then if they decide to build Boris this end!

It will be quite exciting then if they decide to build Boris this end!grippie

It will be quite exciting then if they decide to build Boris this end!

Score: -1

Bluebs
9:14pm Mon 5 May 14

Fred and Loopy, your theory on the UXO coming from the Richard Montgomery is complete and utter tosh. Given the mass of each item of UXO and the direction and speed of the estuary tidal flow, it would not be physically possible for any of it to reach East Beach.
East Beach is highly contaminated with all sorts of UXO from its many years used as an experimental weapons trials area and demolition range, the actions accompaying WWII also contaminated the area.
Unfortunately for the residents and shop owners in the area it will not be opened anytime soon. The area was closed off as it was deemed unsafe for the general public due to the amount of UXO being discovered. The area now has to be searched and cleared before access can be granted.
The search area is considerable and the formula for how many square meters an operator can clear in a day, depends on several factors, ground type, ferrous metal contamination, UXO level and depth, all of these factors when applied to the East Beach area mean it will be a very long and very expensive process, it wont help that the area is underwater for several hours a day.
So Fred, thanks for your advice on how to deal with the problem, now I guess you'll want to continue knitting your tin foil hats, can't be too careful with those pesky microwave ovens and bluetooth signals. Let alone the aliens might get ya !!

Fred and Loopy, your theory on the UXO coming from the Richard Montgomery is complete and utter tosh. Given the mass of each item of UXO and the direction and speed of the estuary tidal flow, it would not be physically possible for any of it to reach East Beach.
East Beach is highly contaminated with all sorts of UXO from its many years used as an experimental weapons trials area and demolition range, the actions accompaying WWII also contaminated the area.
Unfortunately for the residents and shop owners in the area it will not be opened anytime soon. The area was closed off as it was deemed unsafe for the general public due to the amount of UXO being discovered. The area now has to be searched and cleared before access can be granted.
The search area is considerable and the formula for how many square meters an operator can clear in a day, depends on several factors, ground type, ferrous metal contamination, UXO level and depth, all of these factors when applied to the East Beach area mean it will be a very long and very expensive process, it wont help that the area is underwater for several hours a day.
So Fred, thanks for your advice on how to deal with the problem, now I guess you'll want to continue knitting your tin foil hats, can't be too careful with those pesky microwave ovens and bluetooth signals. Let alone the aliens might get ya !!Bluebs

Fred and Loopy, your theory on the UXO coming from the Richard Montgomery is complete and utter tosh. Given the mass of each item of UXO and the direction and speed of the estuary tidal flow, it would not be physically possible for any of it to reach East Beach.
East Beach is highly contaminated with all sorts of UXO from its many years used as an experimental weapons trials area and demolition range, the actions accompaying WWII also contaminated the area.
Unfortunately for the residents and shop owners in the area it will not be opened anytime soon. The area was closed off as it was deemed unsafe for the general public due to the amount of UXO being discovered. The area now has to be searched and cleared before access can be granted.
The search area is considerable and the formula for how many square meters an operator can clear in a day, depends on several factors, ground type, ferrous metal contamination, UXO level and depth, all of these factors when applied to the East Beach area mean it will be a very long and very expensive process, it wont help that the area is underwater for several hours a day.
So Fred, thanks for your advice on how to deal with the problem, now I guess you'll want to continue knitting your tin foil hats, can't be too careful with those pesky microwave ovens and bluetooth signals. Let alone the aliens might get ya !!

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